Stewart, Coleman named McDonald's All-Americans; Orange women land 2 on team

Dennis Nett / The Post-StandardBreanna Stewart (left), of Cicero-North Syracuse, and Dajuan Coleman, of Jamesville-DeWitt, were each named McDonald's All-Americans on Thursday.

Cicero-North Syracuse’s Breanna Stewart and Jamesville-DeWitt’s Dajuan Coleman were both named to the prestigious McDonald’s All-American teams on Thursday, the first time two players from the Syracuse area have received that honor in the same year.

Stewart, a 6-foot-4 forward and the consensus No. 1 women’s recruit in the nation, is headed to Connecticut next season, while Coleman, a 6-10, 280-pound post player who is ranked No. 13 by ESPN, has committed to Syracuse.

The announcement of the teams also proved to be a big day for Syracuse women’s coach Quentin Hillsman, as he picked up only the third and fourth McDonald’s All-Americans in program history with the selection of two combo guards, Brianna Butler, of Nazareth Regional High School in Brooklyn, and Brittney Sykes of Newark, N.J.

The McDonald’s teams are comprised of seniors determined to be the best 24 boys and 24 girls in the nation out of a pool of 600 nominees. Divided into East vs. West squads, they will each play games March 28 in Chicago's United Center at Soldier Field. The girls game starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU and the boys game is at 9:30 on ESPN.

For Stewart, arguably the most acclaimed basketball player, boy or girl, to ever come out of the Syracuse area, she said the McDonald’s honor ranks alongside her many other awards, including being named the 2011 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

“When you look at all of the great players that have played in the game and how many years the game has been around (35), it’s just a great acknowledgment of what I’ve done,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Asked about whether she would enter the popular slam-dunk competition, Stewart laughed, but didn’t rule it out.

“You know, I would like to be in that. I can dunk it, I just don’t have anything fancy,” said Stewart, who features a 7-foot-1 wingspan. “So, I’ll have to work on that.”

Stewart will be joined in the game by two other Connecticut recruits: Moriah Jefferson, a 5-7 point guard from Texas and the No. 2 overall recruit, and Morgan Tuck, a 6-2 forward from Bolingbrook, Ill.

Stewart’s high school coach, Eric Smith, said he and Breanna were tipped off about her selection two weeks ago. Still, the announcement — and having had the opportunity to coach Stewart — is something Smith said he will cherish forever.

“It’s a neat deal — and it means that I’m a lucky guy,” said Smith, whose Northstars are ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 8 in the nation. “That’s how it works in a public school. She grew up here and was a humble enough kid to stay around. She worked extra hard for me for five years and she deserves all of the accolades she gets. She’s a great kid.”

Neither Coleman nor his coach, Bob McKenney, could be reached for comment. But the big man becomes the latest in a long line of McDonald’s All-Americans to land at Syracuse and the first Syracusan since Greg Paulus (CBA/Duke) to earn the honor.

As for the Orange women’s team, the selection of Butler and Sykes to the McDonald’s girls team gives even more status to a five-player, 2012 recruiting class that has been ranked sixth in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz.

“It serves two purposes,” said coach Quentin Hillsman. “You get two of the top 24 players in the country, which is great, but it also adds some validity to your program in that big-time players will come here. It allows you to sell your program to future recruits.”

Butler, 5-11, is listed as a five-star recruit and ranked 13th overall by HoopGurlz, while the 5-9 Sykes is ranked 30th by HoopGurlz and 18th by Jumpoff Plus.